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Ruth was momentarily shocked by the sight.
Thunder was so prickly that even Ruth had never experienced such an intimate touch.
"What is this suspicious kid?"
It was just as Ruth narrowed his eyes.
"That's right! I am suspicious."
The little girl puffed out her chest proudly, like a puppy that had successfully finished a game of hunt.
Then, she pulled a thorn out of her pocket—one so tiny it was barely visible.
"I have something to tell you! Actually, I'm the one who treated Thunder!"
"Who are you?"
"I'm Coco! Look, I have the thorn as evidence!"
"......Coco? Why does that name sound so familiar. Anyway, give it here."
Coco hid her racing heart and held out her hand.
"That's a thorn from something it ate in a hurry on a distant plain. It has a unique shape, so Ruth will recognize it if you show him."
Just as he said, Ruth's pupils dilated as he took the thorn.
"Huh, this thorn is......."
It was exactly as Thunder had described.
"It doesn't grow in this region at all; it's from a unique flower that only grows on the plains of the region where Ruth studied abroad."
While Ruth was recalling Thunder's words, Dot looked inside Thunder's mouth with a magnifying glass and let out a short exclamation of admiration.
"The little lady is correct. There is an extremely minute wound on the tongue, as if it were pricked by a thorn. Furthermore......."
Thunder was sticking close to Coco's side.
To anyone watching, they had formed a bond.
"From the looks of it, it truly seems as though the little lady treated Lord Thunder."
Patricia looked flustered as the situation turned against her in an instant.
"No need for excuses, then."
Sensing Ruth's fierce aura, Patricia hurriedly bowed low.
"I-I'm sorry!"
"Exactly what for?"
"I was greedy for praise, so I just......."
"Oh......."
Ruth tilted his head with a mischievous expression.
"Since you lied to me, you'd better be prepared to pay a heavy price."
"I-I'm sorr—"
He stared at Patricia with a cold gaze before turning to look at Coco.
"Quiet. More importantly, you. Was your name Coco?"
"Yes! I'm Coco!"
Coco shifted her gaze away from the trembling Patricia.
'It can't be helped. To meet Big Sister, I have to be a bad puppy!'
Thunder had told her so.
He said people wouldn't believe something like 'Coco treated Thunder.'
So, she and Thunder had put their heads together.
Like a bad puppy, she had hatched a wicked plan.
"Hmph, quite the ambitious one. So, who are you? A maid? A vet?"
The atmosphere turned chilly at Ruth's words.
Ruth tilted his head and tapped Dot on the shoulder.
"Ah, why that face? Dot, is she your daughter?"
Then, Dot broke the silence and murmured softly.
"U-um, Lord Ruth. I am hesitant to say this, but......."
"Huh?"
"Well....... The little lady here is not a maid or a vet. And she is certainly not my daughter. I'm not even married."
"Then what is she?"
"......The little lady is the youngest daughter of this house."
Ruth's face turned bright red.
"......No, he's gone mad. That old man....... He's insane. That crazy, eccentric old man. At h-his age, h-having a ch-child......."
Dot hurriedly waved her hands.
"Eh? N-no, that's not it! Since it's only been about a week since Lord Ruth returned from ten years of studying abroad, it seems the news wasn't conveyed to you!"
"What? Tell me exactly."
"Well......."
Dot explained the detailed circumstances.
When Dot finished speaking, Ruth's mouth hung open wide enough to see his bright red uvula.
"Now that I think about it, I feel like I heard something, but I forgot because it wasn't important. ......So, you're saying this scruffy kid is the prospective youngest member of our family?"
Coco shook her head.
"No!"
"Then what's the deal?"
"They say I'm going to be kicked out soon because my holy stigma didn't manifest!"
"......What?"
"But that doesn't matter. I achieved something great today!"
Ruth clicked his tongue with a knowing expression.
"Ah, I see. You probably saved Thunder because you didn't want to be kicked out of the family. Right?"
"......."
"You used your head a bit, but you can't get adopted just for pulling out one thorn. I'm not married, and I'm just a degenerate with no authority. Family adoptions are decided through consultation between Father and the Council of Elders."
However, instead of being disappointed, Coco's eyes only sparkled.
Eventually, she placed her hands on her hips and looked up at Ruth confidently!
"Um, not adoption!"
"Eh, then what?"
"My wish is to meet Lady Chloe!"
Ruth's jaw dropped.
"......Huh? Did I hear that wrong? Who?"
Who was Chloe Ardos?
The third daughter of Duke Ardos.
However, she was known to the world as a sinister villainess.
Much of this was due to her prickly personality and the fact that she had manifested as a 'dark mage' who wielded darkness, something shunned by the Empire.
Furthermore, a year ago.
After a beloved dog of hers died, she went completely mad.
She had stained the annex where she resided with darkness.
And yet.......
"They said if I achieve something great, I can meet a direct descendant."
"No, I mean......."
"So, please let me meet Lady Chloe!"
......This tiny little thing wants to meet the dangerous Chloe?
Coco proudly pushed out her round, plump belly.
Like a round yarn doll drawn neatly with colored pencils.
* * *
A few hours later.
Ruth rubbed his stiff eyes and entered Dot's examination room.
"Dot, did that scruffy kid get to Chloe okay?"
"Yes, a maid just took her."
"Wow, what a legendary scruffy kid. I don't know why, but she's walking straight into the jaws of death."
Chloe was a self-proclaimed and publicly recognized eccentric degenerate.
Moreover, she had recently been experiencing symptoms of an ability rampage.
"Hey, you're going to die at this rate. More than half of your mana core is already destroyed."
When ability users overuse their supernatural abilities and their mana core is destroyed, they go berserk and die.
Chloe was not unaware of this.
Yet, she did nothing and simply lay there like a corpse.
"So....... What does it matter to you."
"Hey. Even if you and I aren't exactly close, well, I'm still your brother. I'm worried—"
"Leave while I'm still being nice."
He shook his head inwardly.
"If she gets kicked out by Chloe, I'll have to pick up that scruffy kid."
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